FLASHBACK: God Will Punish Buhari If Nigeria Isn’t Returned To State He Met — Suspended Abuja Chief Imam
God Will Punish Buhari If Nigeria Isn’t Returned To State He Met — Suspended Abuja Chief Imam
In 2021, the suspended Chief Imam of Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque, Sheikh Nuru Khalid lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari for his failure to tackle banditry in the country.
The mosque’s steering committee had on Saturday suspended Khalid for criticising President Buhari over last Monday night’s attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train.
The Imam, in his Friday sermon, had criticised the President for failure to visit Kaduna over the terrorist attack, saying mere condemnation wasn’t enough.
He argued that Buhari was in Kaduna for campaigns but refused to visit the state after the bomb attack on the passenger train.
However, last Friday’s sermon wasn’t the first or second time the Islamic cleric would be criticising the President for how he had been handling the problem of insecurity in the country.
In a viral video in 2021, Khalid swore that Allah (God) will deal with Buhari if he doesn’t return Nigeria “united and without bandits”.
The Imam, who spoke in Hausa, said, “Go and tell the President that under his government some groups of people are issuing threats to local communities, demanding that they should be paid some amounts of money or face attack.
“And they would gather the money and announce publicly on the BBC that they (bandits) would be paid this Friday [to avoid attack].
“Tell the president that there is a country we pay allegiance to, and there is a part of the country we do not know, which is governed by bandits.
“The president should either return the country as one nation where bandits are not killing people anyhow — just the way he took over, or Allah (God) will deal with him.
“This is the message. I’m saying this in an open forum, and it is live-streamed for the world to see. I take responsibility for my words, and I’m ready to face whatever consequences for preaching peace and unity in Nigeria.
“Mr President, we don’t want to hear the reports of the killing of people under your watch. We don’t want to hear reports of cowardice among our soldiers, such that they are attacked at their base.
“We have a video in which you said Nigerian soldiers had the patriotism, training, and discipline to tackle all manner of criminality in the country. You said if you were elected, you would give them the required support to tackle insurgency in a short time.
“Your Excellency, a promise made is a promise kept. If you lack the advisers to remind you of this, we are ready to tell you. We are praying to God to help you fulfil this promise if really you are willing.”